ST. LOUIS – The Giants benefited from an incredibly bad call in the third quarter of their 26-21 upset victory. On third-and goal from the Rams’ 5-yard line and 14 points of New York’s 17-0 lead gone, Grant Wistrom crushed Kerry Collins from the blind side, causing a clear fumble that Kim Herring recovered.

The officials ruled Collins down, although not as down as he will be when he looks at the film today and sees for the first time that Tiki Barber was lined up uncovered, waving his arms, in the right flank.

Collins was told about Barber being open when he came back to the bench. “They were blitzing and I got caught up in the blitz,” he said. “I just assumed they would cover whoever they had to cover.”

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Bad special team decisions were evident again. Daryl Jones foolishly called for a fair catch of a Mitch Berger punt on the 6-yard line in the first quarter. In the second, Ron Dixon brushed Terence Wilkins on another fair catch, drawing a 15-yard penalty. And although he certainly hustled, a more experienced Damon Washington might have gotten between the ball and the goal line on Matt Allen‘s coffin-corner punt before the Rams’ last possession. The ball bounced, barely, into the end zone.